England fans mobilize in their thousands for key World Cup clash

Houghton, who also captains City, says she has been really impressed with the England side and in particular, their manager Southgate.

"I've got a amusing feeling that the momentum is so good, and, you know, especially now that we're all going to turn up with special Gareth waistcoats, and that can only help can't it", said fan Lee Walkup, 50.

But with the World Cup semi-finals in NATO's traditional adversary Russian Federation made up exclusively of members of the western military alliance, the heads of state and government in Brussels were able to turn to football to lighten the atmosphere.

The Three Lions have the chance to reach just the second major tournament finale in their history on Wednesday as they take on Croatia in a mouth-watering Luzhniki Stadium semi-final.

"Everyone was brilliant in the last game, that's what Gareth's done - he's got us working as a team".

But Southgate revealed he could not listen to it for many years.

They beat Denmark in the round of 16 and host Russian Federation in the quarter-finals this year, becoming only the second team with consecutive shootout wins in the same World Cup since Argentina defeated Yugoslavia and Italy in 1990.

Dalic: We will try to stop KaneThey are confident and have a young team. "They are really good at set-pieces and their tall players are risky at corners. However, it was only on the last strike - from Ivan Rakitic - that sealed the qualification for the Croatian team.

"The improvement and the hunger in the players is very clear for everyone to see".

We're not sure what to make of it!

While Southgate's waistcoat accumulates national attention, another item worn by the Three Lions boss has been credited with bringing luck to the team in Russian Federation.

Gareth Southgat has tried to avoid the football anthem Three Lions for the past 20 years, as it brought back memories of his penalty miss at Euro 96. That's why we want our punters to wear waistcoats in tribute to the man himself. Meticulous preparation - including a trip to the United States to take in an National Basketball Association game - the selection of specific players with strong dead-ball delivery, and the defensive nature of high-pressure tournament football has led to a point where set pieces could yet lead England to a second World Cup title.

"A lot of young players were involved two years ago, suffered huge disappointment, we could have ignored that and looked to the future but we felt it was important to unpick it and find out exactly why we've had 10 years since we won a knockout game.